Boxed in

DIGITAL broadcasters in Britain were warned last week that they may be not be allowed to go on the air if they press ahead with plans to launch incompatible terrestrial and satellite television services.

The Independent Television Commission has said that it intends to protect consumers' interests in December, when Britain becomes the first country to launch digital terrestrial TV alongside digital satellite TV.

The ITC told broadcasters that if they confuse viewers by launching incompatible rival services, no one will buy set-top receiver boxes. The ITC also reminded broadcasters that it can impose licence sanctions and refuse them permission to start transmitting digital services. "We do not want to be adversarialwe would rather persuade," says ITC chief executive Peter Rogers. "But if push comes to shove, we could freeze the service launches."